Airtel in Africa rejig

India’s No. 1 operator has divided its African operations into four business units — French speaking African countries, English speaking countries, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo.

V.G. Somasekhar, who had turned Airtel Uganda into a profitable entity, has been appointed executive operations director of the unit serving the French-speaking countries — Congo B, Malawi, Burkina, Niger, Chad, Madagascar, Zambia and Seychelles.

Christophe Soulet, has taken over as executive operations director of the division for the English-speaking countries — Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Gabon, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

Soulet had worked with Millicom as chief operating and executive officer.

At Millicom, Soulet led and executed an Africa strategy that resulted in high double-digit year-on-year revenue. He also coached and built winning leadership teams across Africa, a Bharti release said.

Making the announcement Airtel Africa CEO Christian de Faria said: “These two business leaders have distinguished themselves with their exceptional understanding of the African telecom landscape.

“We will leverage their experience, leadership and understanding of the African market to accelerate our market leadership opportunities and develop team capabilities as we seek to take our brand to the next level.”